Aethon, Inc.

Investor Apple Tree Partners has won a crucial court victory against its main funder, after months of uncertainty about whether it would be able to continue putting money into the biotechs it has backed. On Friday, Delaware Court of Chancery judicial officer Kathaleen McCormick ruled that Apple Tree’s financial backer Rigmora must pay about $97 million of the approximately $102 million that the venture investor had called down to make investments in several of its portfolio companies earlier this year. Friday’s win for Apple Tree is critical given the dire financial shape of its portfolio companies, including several that are at risk of insolvency. Over the past six months, ATP has had to reduce some of its biotech startups to a “skeleton crew” and lay off 70% of employees across its portfolio companies, McCormick wrote in an opinion on Friday. Unlike many other venture firms with a broad set of limited partners to fund investments, Apple Tree has relied almost entirely on Rigmora, with about 98% of its funds over the years — totaling more than $2 billion — from just Rigmora. “We are gratified that the Chancellor ordered Rigmora to contribute capital to ATP that it owed under the terms of our limited partnership agreement,” ATP founder and managing partner Seth Harrison said in a statement to Endpoints News. “This proposition never should have been in question.” Rigmora is owned by the family trust of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who received his medical degree in 1990 and practiced medicine for a year before becoming a businessman. He made about $5 billion after selling his interests in the fertilizer manufacturer Uralkali in 2010, according to Friday’s court filing. He then wanted to create a “family-owned pharma company,” according to the court document, and invested through venture capital. A spokesperson for the Rybolovlev family trust didn’t immediately respond to email inquiries. Despite Friday’s ruling, it wasn’t immediately clear if ATP will receive the capital calls anytime soon. Rigmora had filed competing litigation in the Cayman Islands, and the Delaware court deferred to the Cayman court on some of ATP’s claims. McCormick ordered the parties on Friday to “submit a form of order or competing forms of order implementing this decision within three business days.” Apple Tree’s affected portfolio companies are Aethon, Apertor, Ascidian, Deep Apple, Evercrisp, Initial, Marengo, Marlinspike, Red Queen and Replicate. McCormick, in her ruling, said ATP is entitled to the capital it requested for all those companies, except Replicate, due to an amendment to its partnership agreement with Rigmora. “Rigmora has the funds available to meet the capital calls,” McCormick’s opinion states. “Moreover, the portfolio companies are developing treatments for serious medical conditions, including childhood blindness, various cancers, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases. The public interest strongly favors preserving potentially life-saving research programs.” The relationship between ATP and Rigmora went well for about a decade. Then, Rigmora’s “enthusiasm began to wane in late 2021 and disappeared entirely following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022,” ATP alleged in a court filing earlier this year. Rigmora has claimed that ATP can’t call capital because it acted in bad faith. In June, the Rybolovlev family trust said in a statement that “because of our loss of trust and confidence in it, we have sought a just and equitable winding up of the fund.” In Friday’s court filing, the Delaware judicial official said that “none of this supports a finding that ATP acted in bad faith.”

Aethon will apply its proprietary HapImmune™ platform to create novel antibodies that home in on cancer neoantigens generated by treatment with RAS inhibitors Collaboration focuses on key Revolution Medicines pipeline programs NEW YORK, April 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aethon Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company discovering and developing novel antibody therapeutics designed to attack cancer cells in tandem with targeted covalent inhibitor cancer therapies, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Revolution Medicines, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company developing targeted therapies for patients with RAS-addicted cancers. Under the terms of the agreement, Aethon will use its HapImmune™ platform to discover novel bispecific antibodies to mount an immune attack directed towards cancer cells hit by Revolution Medicines' RAS(ON) inhibitors, with the goal of fueling tumor clearance and helping to establish immune memory. The terms of the agreement provide for a multi-year collaboration under which Aethon is responsible for conducting preclinical work, with full reimbursement by Revolution Medicines. Revolution Medicines has an option to conduct any clinical development of products that may arise from the collaboration. The arrangement provides for both upfront and potential downstream payments covering future development and commercialization activities should Revolution Medicines exercise its option. "Aethon has proprietary expertise in creating and developing novel, cancer-specific drug-target peptide conjugates that seek out and bind to neoantigens created by different classes of covalent inhibitor anti-cancer therapies. This collaboration with Revolution Medicines represents an important validation of Aethon's HapImmune platform and an exciting opportunity to potentially enhance RAS targeting by combining the power of highly selective immune cell attack with Revolution Medicines' novel RAS(ON) inhibitors," said Raj Chopra, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Aethon Therapeutics and Head of Oncology and Venture Partner at Apple Tree Partners. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Aethon and exploit their novel and innovative platform," said Steve Kelsey, M.D., president, research and development at Revolution Medicines. "Through our own publications, and those of other leaders in the field, we have become increasingly aware of the interaction between oncogenic RAS activation and anti-tumor immunity. This collaboration represents an important component of our long-term vision to optimize treatments for patients with RAS-driven cancers." Beyond the programs being advanced in partnership with Revolution Medicines, Aethon has additional programs targeting validated covalent small molecules that inhibit RAS, EGFR, and BTK. "Aethon is discovering its own proprietary covalent inhibitors that target known oncogenes and tumor suppressors to create cancer-specific neoantigens as targets for engaging the immune system. This includes CD3+T cells and T cell subsets. Our significant progress on this front is very encouraging," Dr. Chopra said. About Aethon Therapeutics Aethon Therapeutics creates neoantigens by design, to transform cancer treatments into cures. Aethon's novel anti-drug-peptide conjugate/MHC antibodies are designed to be used in combination with targeted covalent inhibitors of RAS, EGFR, and other oncogenic driver mutations (including intracellular targets) to mount immune attacks to selectively kill residual cancer cells, including drug-resistant "persister" cells. Co-founded by venture capital firm Apple Tree Partners with New York University cancer researchers Shohei Koide, Ph.D. and Benjamin G. Neel, M.D., Ph.D., Aethon unites immunotherapy and targeted therapy to expand the power and promise of both approaches for people living with cancer. For more information, visit aethontx.com. SOURCE Aethon Therapeutics, Inc.

Financial conditions continue to make it difficult for biotech companies to raise money. Despite the tough market, some startups are securing the cash they need to advance drug research in cancer, immunology, rare disease, and more. Here’s a recap of some recent financings of note: —Belharra Therapeutics emerged from stealth with $50 million in Series A financing and a partnership with Genentech that comes with an $80 million upfront payment. The startup, a spinout of Scripps Research, has technology that analyzes the human proteome to find ways small molecules that can bind to disease-causing proteins long thought to be undruggable. Belharra was formed by venture capital firm Versant Ventures. —Pathalys Pharma raised $150 million to finance two Phase 3 tests of upacicalet, a potential treatment for dialysis patients who develop secondary hyperparathyroidism. This condition leads to lower levels of calcium in the blood, causing the thyroid glands to work harder. Treatment includes calcimimetics, which reduce secretions of parathyroid hormone. Upacicalet is an intravenously administered small molecule that may control intact parathyroid hormone levels. The new cash for Raleigh, North Carolina-based Pathalys, a combination of product financing and equity investment, was led by Abingworth. —The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation committed up to $15 million to ReCode Therapeutics to support one of the biotech’s programs. Menlo Park, California-based ReCode develops lipid nanoparticle-delivered messenger RNA therapies. The foundation’s investment will support the startup’s work developing an inhaled mRNA therapy for cystic fibrosis. Last summer, Leaps by Bayer co-led a $120 million extension of ReCode’s Series B round of financing. —Aethon Therapeutics launched with a $30 million Series A round of financing. The New York-based startup is developing bispecific antibody drugs intended to overcome the ability of tumors to develop drug resistance. Aethon’s technology, called HapImmune, is based on research from NYU Langone Health. The financing coincided with the publication of a paper in the journal Cancer Discovery describing the HapImmune platform. Most of Aethon’s financing comes from venture capital firm Apple Tree Partners, which co-founded Aethon with scientists from NYU Langone. —Leaps by Bayer and Sanofi Ventures co-led NextPoint Therapeutics’ $80 million Series B round. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup said it will use the capital to reach the clinic with its two lead immuno-oncology programs, both of which activate anti-tumor responses by targeting the newly discovered HHLA2 pathway. —Speaking of Sanofi Ventures, the venture fund now has an additional $750 million. French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has committed that sum to its namesake venture fund, which invests in innovative new companies. Last year, Sanofi Ventures closed 10 investments in therapeutic and digital areas of interest to Sanofi. —Ensoma Therapeutics closed an $85 million Series B financing to support its in vivo cell therapy platform, Engenious, and to continue development of its genetic medicines pipeline. The Boston-based company also announced the acquisition of Twelve Bio ApS, a CRISPR gene-editing company. Arix Bioscience and 5AM Ventures co-led the new financing. Ensoma launched in 2021, unveiling a $70 million Series A round and a partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical.